Tragic Love
by Nobel Born To Chaos
Summary: What if Fitz had meant business at Vegas night and Eli met the knife? My "What if" story for the month of September.


**Degrassi Fanfiction**

**Eli and Clare**

**Summary:** What if Fitz had meant business at Vegas night and Eli met the knife? My "What if" story for the month of September.

**Chapter One: Met His Match**

Bullying, it's a constant battle that everyone tries to fight. School policies, teacher assistance and even police presence can try their best and yet it still happens, and sometimes it becomes lethal. I'm not talking about the verbal teasing, a few glances in the hallway (though that can seem just as bad.) I'm talking about the threats that make you break out in a cold sweat; spend hours pacing your room aimlessly worrying about if you're literally going to survive your next trip down the hallway.

That my friend is the fear if have forever felt and, up until now, something I thought I could handle. Now I stand here in the hallway watching him stalk towards me. I'm trying not to chicken out. I've heard those terms used way too much in my life to let them be true in this moment. _'Wimp, pansy, go cut you're wrists Emo kid, cut up the road not across.'_ Everything, all those words were echoing in my head as those footsteps drew nearer and nearer.

His face is stern and focused; he knows there is no turning back once he makes those final strides. I have to remind myself to breath while my heart thunders so loudly in my ears I know I'm going to burst soon. I have to be brave, I have to be strong, yet all I want to do is run and hide until a stair well like I used to. I want to run away from him, yet all my life no matter how fast my feet carried me the bully was always that much faster. They always win; it's the laws of nature. Only the fastest, strongest, and most dominate survive, and here I am a short, slim kid with skinny jeans and long bangs against some guy who looks like he stepped out of juvenile hall only minutes ago.

He's strong, he could snap me in two and I know it. I can still feel my split lip from a few weeks ago when he landed that punch. It made my head spin and my ears ring yet I tried to act like it was nothing. I did it for her. I didn't want her to think I was weak, my pride couldn't take it if she was forced to defend _poor little Eli._ I'll die by his hands before I ever let her believe that. I have to protect her too; she's no stronger than me against him. I mean, I have a fighting chance at the least but she's helpless. I stand perfectly still as he comes right to my face, pushing me against a locker, he's got me cornered and I can hear my conscious just screaming _'RUN!'_ but my feet won't listen. I have to stay and protect her, I look over at her and beg her in silence to flee and get away from him. If this goes bad and she gets hurt I could never forgive myself.

And that's when I see it, the source of my ending. Glistening by the moon through the sky light he holds it tightly in his grasp, his knuckles white from power. I swallow the lump in my throat, my mind hazed. What have I got myself into? I thought it was being tough but I knew, I've always known, that I'm nothing but a scared little kid. A scared kid who was going to die in front of the girl he loved more than anything. I knew happiness was impossible for me, I don't deserve it. Drawing one last breath I hear Clare scream as Fitz growled with a smirk, "Wanted to this for a long time..." and with that I felt the blade enter my side and the pain over loaded my completely. A grunt fell from my lips followed by a pathetic choking sob, I couldn't do this. I wasn't strong...and now I was fading.

Falling to the floor I saw Fitz take off running down the hallway and I could hear Clare screaming for help. I felt her hands on my head, moving it to lay in her lap as she pulled off her sweater and tried to stop the bleeding. "Eli, Eli please stay with me! HELP!"

"Clare...You were right..."

"What are you talking about?" she asked through her tears that fell on my face, mixing with my own.

"I deserve it..."with that, darkness consumed me.


End file.
